Asado is a technique used for cooking meat. This meat is usually beef along with several other kinds of food, usually organs or other meats, which are slow-cooked over a grill. However, Asados can also be cooked over an open fire. The Asado can be called either just a technique for cooking meats or the technique for serving an entire meal. The meats included in the Asado are organs, ribs, flank steak, chicken and occasionally chivito (baby goat). Some other meats included are pork and lamb (Wikipedia). The other foods that are served with the Asado are grilled cheese, simple salads, bread, and grilled Asado_uruguayo.JPGvegetables. These are all presented in a certain order by the Asador (the cooker).

There are also other ways besides plain grilling. One form of this is where a fire pit is made, then a grill is layed over the burning fire. Once the fire is really burning hot, a full carcass is layed down on the grill, splayed open to best recieve the meat (Wikipedia). Another way to get the meat cooking is make the fire, and place the grill on top only after the coals have formed and are burning evenly. Yet another form is sticking the entire animal on a wooden pole and exposing the meat to the heat of lives coals. The only preparation made to the meat beforehand is adding salt to taste. However, gristle is not wanted to fall down on the coals and add adverse flavoring to the meat, so often the area directly underneath the meat will be kept clear, as to best avoid that. The positioning of the coals/meat is specifically for slow cooking, so the traditional asado takes about two hours to fully cook the meat.

There are also a good deal of spices, flavorings, and sauces that are left sitting to be added to the meats after they finish cooking. However, these seasonings are not added to the steaks, only the offals (other meats). Some of the seasonings include chopped parsely, dried oregano, garlic, salt and pepper. Some others are paprika with olive oil, or salsa criolla, a sauce of tomato and onion in vinegar.

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